When the Vietnam War first started, less than half of America opposed it, however by December, 1964, the date of the first anti-war march on Washington, many more people had joined the protest movement. "Only 25,000 people took part but it was still the largest anti-war demonstration in American history." (Spartucus Educational). By the end of the war it would be difficult to categorize these protesters of the Vietnam War by any one single racial, religious or socioeconomic label. However, it is fairly accurate to say that those who formed their initial ranks came from the universities, not only students of draft age, but also their professors. “College students made up the majority of the protesters.” (Spartucus Educational). College students comprised the age bracket that was targeted by the draft, that is: all healthy males over 18, and generally no older than 26. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that they most vehemently opposed the war, not only because of their potential involvement. The Protest Movement was a direct result not only from the moral questions that the war evoked in so many Americans, but also from the fears of college students who loathed to see their futures vanish with the receipt of a draft card. Students created the protest movement to voice their own personal opinions and concerns about the war in the hopes that their united front would be enough to change the decisions made by the administration.
As the war became progressively more unpopular and as more troops were committed with no clear end in sight, the ranks of Protest Movement started to swell. “Many college professors, business people, parents of draft-age youth, religious leaders, doctors, lawyers, politicians and entertainers also voiced their objection to American involvement in the Vietnam War.” (McCormick, 7). The Movement offered a structured form of dissent to those who felt that America's involvement in Vietnam was morally objectionable, as more and more individuals did after revelations about the heinous weaponry being used against innocent Vietnamese women, children and random civilians. Eventually in 1967 a group of scholars lead by Bertrand Russel, established the International War Crimes Tribunal, which was meant to put pressure on the American government to curb the blatant degradation of human rights. After extensive investigations and witness interviews, the tribunal concluded that the United States was guilty of using weapons against the Vietnamese that were prohibited by international law. They were also charged of torturing captured prisoners and innocent civilians who should have been immune to such atrocities under the Geneva Convention accords. The tribunal felt the actions of the US government were so appalling that they went so far as to compare the violations to genocide of the Jewish people in Nazi Germany.
General Information
When the Vietnam War first started, less than half of America opposed it, however by December, 1964, the date of the first anti-war march on Washington, many more people had joined the protest movement. "Only 25,000 people took part but it was still the largest anti-war demonstration in American history." (Spartucus Educational). By the end of the war it would be difficult to categorize these protesters of the Vietnam War by any one single racial, religious or socioeconomic label. However, it is fairly accurate to say that those who formed their initial ranks came from the universities, not only students of draft age, but also their professors. “College students made up the majority of the protesters.” (Spartucus Educational). College students comprised the age bracket that was targeted by the draft, that is: all healthy males over 18, and generally no older than 26. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that they most vehemently opposed the war, not only because of their potential involvement. The Protest Movement was a direct result not only from the moral questions that the war evoked in so many Americans, but also from the fears of college students who loathed to see their futures vanish with the receipt of a draft card. Students created the protest movement to voice their own personal opinions and concerns about the war in the hopes that their united front would be enough to change the decisions made by the administration.
As the war became progressively more unpopular and as more troops were committed with no clear end in sight, the ranks of Protest Movement started to swell. “Many college professors, business people, parents of draft-age youth, religious leaders, doctors, lawyers, politicians and entertainers also voiced their objection to American involvement in the Vietnam War.” (McCormick, 7). The Movement offered a structured form of dissent to those who felt that America's involvement in Vietnam was morally objectionable, as more and more individuals did after revelations about the heinous weaponry being used against innocent Vietnamese women, children and random civilians. Eventually in 1967 a group of scholars lead by Bertrand Russel, established the International War Crimes Tribunal, which was meant to put pressure on the American government to curb the blatant degradation of human rights. After extensive investigations and witness interviews, the tribunal concluded that the United States was guilty of using weapons against the Vietnamese that were prohibited by international law. They were also charged of torturing captured prisoners and innocent civilians who should have been immune to such atrocities under the Geneva Convention accords. The tribunal felt the actions of the US government were so appalling that they went so far as to compare the violations to genocide of the Jewish people in Nazi Germany.